Bankers say private capex will need another year to pick up again

Bankers welcomed Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman‘s budget proposals as pro-growth, and praised the focus on capital spending as fiscal consolidation continued.

On the critical issue of a resurgence in private capital spending, which has been lagging for several years, private sector lender Kotak Mahindra Bankdirector all the time KVS maniac opined that it will take another 12 months to revive, even though companies have made occasional investments recently.

“No bad news is good news. It’s a pretty decent budget. The FM has maintained a reasonable balance of fiscal prudence, sustainability and ease of doing business,” Manian told PTI after the budget presentation.

SBI Chair Dinesh Kara said the budget is growth-enhancing, fiscally prudent and consumption-supporting.

“The massive emphasis on capital spending could be the perfect recipe for a private investment cycle that is already visible. Support for SMEs and agriculture will result in broad credit growth,” added Khara.

He also said that “reasonable government borrowing” will support lower interest rates and that the transition to a manageable new tax regime will significantly boost consumption.

AK Goel, chairman of the banking industry lobby group, said the increased capital spending could help to further increase demand for bank funds and that the Agriculture Accelerator Fund will also be helpful.

Umesh Revankarthe executive vice president of Shriram Finance said the announced income tax breaks will increase the purchasing power of middle-class consumers.

“I think the announced announcements will lead to an increase in small business credit declines, consumer-driven two-wheeler commerce and transportation lending,” he added.

Non-bank lender Tata Capital’s managing director and chief executive Rajiv Sabharwal said strong agricultural credit spending, support measures, ease of doing business and digitalization across sectors will improve multiple clusters within the economy.

US lender Bank of America head of state Kaku Nakhate said allowing foreign banks to provide acquisition financing from GIFT City is a welcome move and also praised the proposal for a double budget for a single window approval for IFSCA, SEZ, RBISEBI and GSTN at GIFT City.

KPMG National Head of Taxation, Rajev Dimrialso welcomed Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s moves to ensure that the easing for ordinary taxpayers has not derailed the fiscal math, and the government has remained on the path of fiscal consolidation.

He pointed to the growth in tax revenues for goods and services in recent months and said taxpayers should be credited for the achievements.

The budget rightly “rewards” taxpayers for their efforts, Dimri said.

Adeeb Ahamed, general manager of LuLu Financial Holdings, said the budget is aimed at both traditional and emerging sectors.

Adeeb, who has made significant investments in India’s financial services sector through LuLu Forex and LuLu Finserv, said the move to ramp up the credit guarantee scheme for MSMEs will boost faster access to financial services.

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